The Rangers will begin their 2013-14 regular season against the Phoenix Coyotes at Jobing.com Arena (10:00 p.m. — TV: MSG Network; Radio: ESPN 98.7), in their first of nine straight games on the road. This will be the sixth consecutive season the Blueshirts will open their regular season campaign on the road, and the 12th time in the last 14 seasons. Last season, the Rangers finished second in the Atlantic Division Standings, and sixth in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 26-18-4 (56 pts). The Coyotes finished the 2012-13 season with a 21-18-9 (51 pts) record to rank 10th in the Western Conference. Following the contest, the Rangers will return to action when they face-off against the Los Angeles Kings on Monday, Oct. 7, at Staples Center (10:30 p.m.), to begin a stretch of four games in six days.

RANGERS vs. COYOTES:

All-Time: 38-24-6-0 overall (22-10-2-0 at home; 16-14-4-0 on the road)

2013-14: Tonight is the first of two meetings this season, and the only meeting at Jobing.com Arena.

Last Season: Did not play. In 2011-12, New York was 2-0-0 overall (1-0-0 mark at home; 1-0-0 mark on the road). Both contests were decided by one goal, including a 2-1 shootout win on Jan. 10, 2012, at MSG. The Rangers out-shot the Coyotes, 62-42, including a 21-10 advantage in the first period and a 23-12 advantage in the third period, and out-scored Phoenix 3-1 in the third period. Three different Rangers combined to score the team’s four goals in the series, including a game-winner by Brad Richards on Dec. 17, 2011 at Phoenix, and nine different Blueshirts tallied at least one point in the two games. Henrik Lundqvist was 1-0-0 with a 0.93 GAA and .947 Sv%, while Martin Biron was 1-0-0 with a 2.00 GAA and .913 Sv%.

The Blueshirts enter tonight’s contest with a three-game winning streak against the Coyotes

The Rangers have won eight of their last 10 games against the Coyotes, including a 3-1 mark at Phoenix over the span, dating back to a 3-2 win on Oct. 28, 2002

Each of the last four meetings between the Rangers and Coyotes have been decided by one goal, including two contests that required the shootout

New York tied for 19th in the NHL with a 10-12-2 (22 pts) record on the road last season; Phoenix tied for 15th with a 14-8-2 (30 pts) mark at home last season

The Rangers were 10-6-2 vs. the Western Conference in 2011-12; the Coyotes were 8-7-3 vs. the Eastern Conference in 2011-12

New York lists one former Coyote on its roster: Taylor Pyatt (2009-10 – 2011-12)

The Rangers are 35-37-14 all-time in 86 season-opening games, including a 25-28-9 record in 62 season openers away from MSG. The Blueshirt’s .476 win% in season openers on the road ranks 10th in the NHL.

New York has out-scored their opponents, 244-242 in season-openers

Blueshirts legend Andy Bathgate holds the franchise record, and is tied for second all-time in the NHL, for most assists and points in a season-opening game, having registered four assists and five points on Oct. 7, 1955 at Chicago. Former Ranger Walt Tkaczuk also tallied four assists in a season-opening game on Oct. 9, 1974 vs. Washington.

Derek Stepan tallied three goals while making his NHL debut in the 2010-11 season opener on Oct. 9, 2010 at Buffalo. His three goals tied the franchise record for goals in a season opener, and he became the fourth player in NHL history and first Ranger to register a hat trick in his NHL debut. Ron Murphy, who skated with the Rangers from 1952-53 to 1956-57, also tallied three goals in the 1955-56 season opener at Chicago on Oct. 7, 1955.

Stepan is one of four active players who have notched a hat trick in a season-opening game (Teemu Selanne, Paul Stastny, and Mikhail Grabovski)

Former Rangers’ captain Jaromir Jagr holds the team record for fastest goal to start a game in a season opener with his goal just 29 seconds into the contest on Oct. 5, 2006 vs. Washington

Andy Bathgate, Rod Gilbert and Walt Tkaczuk are tied for the Rangers’ record for most career points in season-opening games, with each player having tallied 13 career points in season openers

Rangers Head Coach Alain Vigneault has posted a 3-5-1-2 record in 11 career season-opening games

Henrik Lundqvist is 4-2-1 with a 2.42 GAA and a .918 Sv% in seven career season-openers

Brad Richards is tied for third in the NHL in goals (seven) and seventh in points (13) in 12 career season-opening games entering the 2013-14 season *Elias Sports Bureau

NEW (AND FAMILIAR) FACES

The Rangers have three new players on their opening night roster: Jesper Fast, Justin Falk, and Benoit Pouliot. In addition, Dominic Moore will be making his return to the Rangers lineup after skating with the Blueshirts from 2003-04 to 2005-06, and Derek Dorsett is looking to make his regular season debut after skating in 11 playoff contests with the Rangers last season.

6,000 GAMES

The Rangers enter the season having played 5,942 regular season games throughout the franchise’s 88 seasons, just 58 games shy of 6,000 all-time. The Blueshirts are scheduled to play their 6,000th game all-time on February 6 against the Edmonton Oilers at Madison Square Garden.

QUICK HITS:

The Blueshirts were the least penalized team in the NHL last season with 183 penalties and 9.2 penalty minutes per game

New York ranked third in the NHL with 1,413 hits, and sixth in the league with 773 blocked shots last season

The Rangers held opponents to 2.25 GA/game last season, which ranked third in the East and fourth in the NHL overall

Last season, the Blueshirts led the NHL in goal scoring after the trade deadline on Apr. 3, averaging 3.6 goals per contest. Prior to the trade deadline, the Rangers averaged 2.4 goals per game.

FINISHING THE JOB

The Blueshirts have registered a point in 92 consecutive regular season games when leading after the second period, dating back to the 2009-10 season, posting a record of 85-0-6 over the span. The Rangers’ last regulation loss in a game when entering the third with the lead was Feb. 4, 2010 (6-5 loss vs. WSH). New York posted a 16-0-0 record when leading after the second period last season.

THE KING’S REIGN:

Henrik Lundqvist is one of four active NHL goalies to reach the 20-win mark in eight consecutive seasons (Brodeur, 12; Luongo, 9; Vokoun, 9), and is the only goaltender with an active streak of eight straight 20-win seasons

Was a Vezina Trophy finalist last season, the fifth time in his eight-year career he has been voted a finalist for the award which he won in 2012

Finished last season tied for the league lead with 24 wins, becoming the first Rangers goaltender to lead the league in wins since Mike Richter in 1993-94 (42)

Passed Ed Giacomin as the franchise leader in career total shutouts (regular season + playoffs) with a 20-save shutout in last season’s finale against New Jersey, the 51st total shutout of his career

The Blueshirts’ netminder has captured Rangers’ MVP honors for a franchise record, seven consecutive years. His seven Rangers’ MVP awards are also a franchise record, passing Brian Leetch (six) for the most in franchise history.

NINE STRAIGHT FOR NASH

Rick Nash enters the season as the only player in the NHL with an active streak of nine consecutive 20-goal seasons.

And, is anyone surprised our painstakingly slow, stubborn, horrible for team morale, GM, is in the process of offending not 1 key player, but 2, with respect to negotiations for the upcoming summer: Henrik and Callie.

I only say this. Moron, if you are not going to sign them (us little people have no choice on this matter) THEN GET VALUE WITH A TRADE.

Don’t think you’ll match what they’re offered when they get to FA and receive heir first. You won’t and you’ll lose them.

I think we will see extensions for Cally, Girardi and Hank before Christmas. I just hope they keep Hank’s cap hit below $8m.
I’d say Cally’s going to be another long one in the Mike Richards range of $5.75m and Girardi $4-4.5m, both long-term. He’s also got deals to sort out for RFA’s: Zucc, Moore, DelZ, Brass and decide whether to keep Boyle and Pouliot.

Oh yeah, just one more important thing to do next summer – buy out Richards!

Nothing like opening the season by getting your ash kicked up and down the West coast and bringing bedbugs home with you from all those Days Inns…I don’t expect much on this trip or this season, which means its a reverse lock that they do something special
Nah…8th seed

Speaking of GMs. How do you like the Flyers, and their GM’s approach? They added another 2 older offensive players, gave them long term contracts. VL ($4.5M per year), who looked good upfront, but not the best beck checker, and Streit ( $5.25M per year). Now, look at the GWG goal by BollanD. Mark Streit loses soft physical battle to Kulemin behind the net, next thing you know- Mason ( who actually looked decent) is alone against Bolland upfront. Game over.

I just hope the PP is better, there were times last year where we all though the NHL should bring in the NFL-style declining penalties.

Anyone see Yzerman’s comments? That’ll work, NOT. First few shifts you’ll have tough guys going after the top forwards and D-men in an attempt to weaken the opposition. You’ll also get guys running over goalies and skill players with no sense of retribution once the other team’s tough guy is back in the locker room. You could even see teams dressing 2 tough guys for when 1 has been ejected.

ilb – One thing about Holmgren is he has signed guys and will have a stable top 9 forwards for the next 3-4 years. The only issue on defense is to re-sign Timmonen. If Pronger was healthy they would be a very different team. He’s made a complete mess of the goaltending situation but at the end of this season there are a few pending UFA’s: Hank, Miller, Hiller, Halak and Elliott and with a rise in the cap he could have $7-8m to throw at a goalie…..

He bleeds red which I know we all do but his is closer to the color of the Coyotes jersey which shows how much he loves the team and the city. He would never have left Phoenix and would have given a hometown discount but he didn’t but that’s ok because I know he would have.

I don’t know about those numbers, UK. Even with the cap going up, they’re only showing $7MM under right now and that’s without Schenn, Timmonen or any goalies under contract. Its not a mess cleaning itself up quickly.

I heard that when Shane Doan gets a cut he actually rubs the granulated desert sand into the cut. Sometimes he even uses an ancient cactus root to help bring out the sting in the wound. He actually feels that the pain helps him be closer to the desert culture of Phoenix.

UK, Flyers’ offense has never been a problem. Their defense is mostly offense oriented too, except Coburn and Grossmann. Timonen is 38. They signed Gill, lol! Did they need Streit and his 35+, 4 year contract at $5.25M per year? Sather would be eaten up alive on this blog if he did that?

While some players use hyper oxygenated blood injections to keep their energy levels up, much like those that are given to a baby after exiting its mother’s birth canal, Shane Doan actually grinds up the Red Rocks of Sedona, AZ and has them injected directly into his veins and eyes. This helps him see the way the ancient inhabitants of Arizona did thus keeping him close to the people of Phoenix.

ilb – true. If Slats had given Streit just 2 years or even mentioned the words Hal or Gill (not in the context of a Jack Black movie or fishing trip) he would have been hung, drawn and quartered. To be honest after their goaltending debacle this past few years i’m surprised Holmgren still has a job. This season and maybe next Lecavalier will look like a great value signing, after that who knows

_Did they need Streit and his 35+, 4 year contract at $5.25M per year? Sather would be eaten up alive on this blog if he did that?_

That’s the best part, it was double unjustifiable. Atleast with the Rangers he would have been filling a need but in Philadelphia he was just perpetuating the dual stereotype that defense doesn’t really matter and their front office doesn’t understand 35+ contracts.

IMHO, this time Sather did absolutely precise, perfect job with both – McDognuts and StepON. Exactly, what was in a good GM job’s description to total satisfaction of all sides (fans including). So, get over your personal idiosyncrasies and hatred and cut the Chomper some slack.
As for that Hank’s contract situation, I, personally, hating any kind of blind cults, before handing to him probably the biggest bucks in league, would definitely (and legitimately, btw) wait and see for the whole season how he will perform in changed NHL rules and team style and what he is REALLY worth. Isn’t it logical? I have no problem with that.

Shane Doan wanted to replace the ‘C’ on his chest with an ‘S,’ to better reflect his role a shaman, the transcendental leader of his team who mediates between the spirit world and the physical, and guides them all in their search for knowledge. The NHL didn’t go for it.

Shane Doan was once inserted into a mystical cactus for the entirety of the off season. When he emerged from the cactus, covered in cactus slime & goo, he said he was re-born and ready to dominate the NHL and win a cup for his beloved Phoenix Coyotes. Although he has never met a Coyote, rumor has it that his spirit beast that guided him through his cactus journey was, in fact, a Coyote named BamBam.

Gravy, correct me if I am wrong, but there is no reason not to play a position player who is on your bench, provided you have an available roster spot, since the worst that can happen is you don’t get any points from that player. But you might want to think about playing a goalie because they can bring down your goalie stats for the week. Right? Or am I totally wrong?

Rob, as UK stated for goalies, you want to at least hit 3 starts. For other skaters, there’s no reason not to start all available players. If +/- was a stat, you could make an argument to sit someone. But there are no stats that will adversely affect your team.

I look forward to see just how much our offensive minded defensemen can contribute to the offense. We saw parts of it in pre-season. Staal, MDZ, Macd, even Moore, Strahlsy, if they make some room for the forwards (and stay healthy), it could be a lot of fun to watch.

Staal has had unfortunate injuries last two years. He is now in his prime and is dying to show his stuff. MacD. Hmmmmm……MDZ, with a supportive coach? Wow…..

Can’t wait either. Pretty excited to have six D we can count on or at least not cringe when they go over the boards as we did with Emminger and Hamrlik last year. It will also help out with the TOI and allow a more even rotation. It’ll keep guys like McD and G from playing 32 minutes a night. Stay healthy, score often, Let’s Go Rangers!

Got to be excited about getting Stepan back, a fully healthy Staal, MDZ not worried about getting bawled out and benched, Dom Moore back where he belongs and a team that realises there is more ice than the 3ft adjacent to the sideboards!

So the Penguins could not put a claim in on Clemmensen despite having massive goaltending issues until, and if, Vokoun can get healthy because they only have $300K in cap space. Did we ever think the day would come where they would be up against the cap?

Using favorite Maloney’s phrase, “with all honesty”, I have really low expectations for the beginning of the season. Any occasional wins in the first 9 games would be a bonus. However, I firmly believe in gradually, but steady team’s improvement after more balanced schedule, total Cally and Hags integration and system implementation. Hopefully, it pace will be rather not too slow. That should be enough to get team in a PO. Than…who knows. With luck and collective fans’ will power…

Boyle is the only “0” because he is a permanent member. “0” isn’t an actual ranking on the WBM. It’s the black hole of the WBM…you can never leave until you are traded, waived, etc.

Richards is not there because he has a legitimate reason to be on the list. Boyle was berated regardless of performance before Richards was known to be terrible. And, I have to pick five guys that aren’t Boyle, so the last few are usually by default.

Tonight at 7:30 EST we will be broadcasting live outside the Jobings.com arena before the game against the Coyotes. Streaming live outside the Coyotes arena talking to Ranger fans who are staging their own unlawful gathering in Phoenix. Catch it live or podcast. Hope you Boneheads can tune in !